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See the Light in Maine

By Patricia Harris and David Lyon / Photography by Douglas MerriamAugust 14, 2008

Let the lighthouses lead you along the state's rocky coast during
this four-day road trip.

June 2005

The famous lighthouses of the Maine coast punctuate this
400-mile driving tour, from the shipbuilding center of Bath to the
beacon at West Quoddy Head, where dawn first touches the
continental United States. Maine's summer is short and sweet, but
daylight starts early and lingers late. That gives you ample time
to hop from lighthouse to lighthouse, hike broad ledges above the
ocean, explore fishing villages, and, of course, hunker down at a
picnic table with a steamed lobster and an ear of corn. You could
even add a few days offshore on painterly Monhegan Island or the
wild headlands of Isle au Haut, each with its own beacon winking
out to sea. Just keep heading for the lights.

Travel tip: If you're coming from a distance, fly into
Portland, pick up a rental car, and follow I-95 north to 295 north
to U.S. Route 1 in Bath, a major ship-repair port.

Food and travel writers Patricia Harris and David Lyon are
coauthors of The Meaning of Food,
the companion volume to the PBS series of the same name.

Day One: Coming into Lobster Land

Your first stop is the
Maine Maritime Museum (243 Washington St., Bath;
207-443-1316,
www.mainemaritimemuseum.org),
which tells just enough about the art and science of boatbuilding
to help you appreciate the variety of vessels in the harbors.
You'll see how timbers are transformed into vessels of all types
and learn to distinguish the lines of a humble peapod rowboat, a
lobster boat, or a sleek racing sloop.

U.S. Route 1 is the main highway for this trip, with detours
along the way that meander the peninsulas and lead to jumping-off
points for islands dangling off the coast. For your first
crustacean, follow U.S. Route 127 south to the wharf at
Five Islands Lobster Company (1447 Five Islands Rd., Five
Islands; 207-371-2990). As fishermen unload their catch at the
dock, relish your lobster and contemplate
Hendricks Head Light on the north end of the harbor. The
next stop is the iconic white tower of
Pemaquid Point Lighthouse, two peninsulas north at the end
of U.S. Route 130, where scrambling over the shore boulders will
help work off lunch.

Rockland calls itself the lobster capital of Maine, and the
Maine Lighthouse Museum (One Park Dr., Rockland;
207-594-3301), which opens this month, overlooks the harbor where
the catch comes ashore. The highlight of its collection is a
10-foot-high, one-ton Fresnel lens from Petit Manan, which hosts
the tallest of Maine's 65 lighthouses.

The Maine Lobster Festival takes over the waterfront on the
first full weekend in August, but fabulous food is served May
through January 1 at Primo (Two S. Main St., Rockland;
207-596-0770,
www.primorestaurant.com).
Whatever Chef Melissa Kelly doesn't grow in her organic gardens
usually comes from local farms or fishermen.

Some of Maine's most picturesque villages sit on the peninsula
south of Rockland along U.S. Route 73.
Owls Head State Park is home to the knobby, 13-foot
Owls Head Light atop a rocky promontory. Climb the wooden
stairs for a coastal panorama. Views at diminutive
Marshall Point Light in Port Clyde are less sweeping, but
the
Marshall Point Lighthouse Museum (207-372-6450,
www.marshallpoint.org) in
the keeper's house records local fishermen's hard-won battles with
the sea.

If you have an extra day, hop a ferry (207-372-8848,
www.monheganboat.com) from
Port Clyde to overnight on Monhegan, possibly the most painted
Maine island. The artists dutifully laboring in their weathered
studios or scattered across the island with easels and brushes are
often relieved to be interrupted by visitors. A short, steep hike
leads to
Monhegan Light.

Almost two-thirds of the island is a natural preserve,
crisscrossed with walking trails. One hike takes you through
Cathedral Woods, where, along the trail, tiny jewel box-sized
"fairy houses" have been constructed by those who've come to adore
the magic of the place.

Back on U.S. Route 1, the
Lobster Pound Restaurant (207-789-5550) on Lincolnville
Beach serves a delicious crabmeat roll. Sun-baked brown sand makes
this the warmest swimming beach on the Maine coast―although
even here most people find the water too brisk for all but brief
excursions. The drive north features sweeping views of mountains
above an island-dotted bay. In Belfast, fresh bread and local
cheese star at the Tuesday and Friday farmers' market (
www.belfastfarmersmarket.org)
on Main Street, near the docks.

The shipbuilding and China Trade past is palpable in Searsport,
where several mansions once belonging to sea captains are now
B&Bs. Searsport is the antiquing capital of the Maine coast,
and diligent hunting in antiques shops just might yield China Trade
treasures.

Where to stay: Captain John P. Nichols built the grand
Homeport Inn (U.S. Route 1, Searsport; 800-742-5814,
www.homeportbnb.com) around
1861, with lawns and gardens extending to the sea. The 10 rooms are
$75 to $125, including breakfast.

Day Three: Rambling the Peninsulas

U.S. Route 1 crosses the Penobscot River on the Waldo-Hancock
Bridge, where Down East Maine officially begins, and sailors speed
up the coast with the aid of prevailing winds. The second turn onto
U.S. Route 15 leads to Blue Hill, an idyllic community filled with
artisans, writers, and musicians. At family-owned
Rackliffe Pottery (132 Ellsworth Rd., Blue Hill;
888-631-3321,
www.rackliffepottery.com),
three generations hand-throw and glaze handsome dinnerware and
serving pieces. Artists, fishermen, and visitors alike stop for
healthy soups and sandwiches at the
Blue Hill Co-op Café (Greene's Hill Place;
207-374-2165).

There's no prettier coastal drive than U.S. Route 175 as it
follows Blue Hill Bay south and loops west along the shore of the
Eggemoggin Reach. At Sargentville, rejoin U.S. Route 15 south to
cross the Deer Isle Bridge, and continue south to Stonington, the
sheltered harbor where a mail boat ferry (207-367-6516,
www.isleauhaut.com) makes
frequent trips to
Isle au Haut. Hiking trails, a good bicycling road, and
granite bluffs and ledges are the main attractions of this
least-traveled slice of Acadia National Park. As the boat enters
the harbor, you'll see a classic small lighthouse on
Robinson Point. The adjoining home is the Keeper's House
Inn.

If you don't overnight on the island, plan on dinner at the
Castine Inn (33 Main St., Castine; 207-326-4365), where
celebrated Chef Tom Gutow gives new meaning to "local food" by
buying most of the ingredients for his seven-course fixed-price
menu within a 50-mile radius.

Where to stay:The Castine Inn (33 Main St., Castine; 207-326-4365,
www.castineinn.com) is a homey
Victorian in a Federal town. Front-porch rockers spy on Main
Street's foot traffic, but the restaurant is the biggest draw. The
19 rooms range from $90 to $245, including breakfast.

Day Four: Down East All the Way

Get an early start east on U.S. Route 1 and south on U.S. Route
3 to Mt. Desert Island's Park Loop Road, where you can sample the
heart of Acadia National Park with an easy four-mile, round-trip
walk along the Ocean Trail. The path edges along Otter Cliffs above
the sea and rocky shore around Sand Beach, where heads bobbing in
the icy water are likely to be seals. The booms at Thunder Hole,
caused by the sea rushing into a fissure between ledges, are most
dramatic on an incoming tide with rough seas. Catch a quick lunch
of Maine crab cakes on the porch of the
Jordan Pond House (Park Loop Road; 207-276-3316), best known
for afternoon tea and popovers on the lawn.

You'll have to drive Down East on U.S. Route 1 through rolling
blueberry barrens for dessert: fresh-baked pie at
Wild Blueberry Land (U.S. Route 1, Columbia Falls;
207-483-2583). The berry-shaped building marks the turn from U.S.
Route 1 to the west end of the U.S. Route 187 loop through
Jonesport, which returns to U.S. Route 1 at Jonesboro. The World's
Fastest Lobster Boat Race takes place here on the Fourth of July.
Norton of Jonesport (118 Main St., Jonesport; 207-497-5933,
www.machiassealisland.com)
runs ecotours to the puffin colony on Machias Seal Island, one of
the rookeries where the seabirds have come back from near
extinction.

Back on U.S. Route 1, follow the signs for U.S. Route 189 to
Lubec and Quoddy Head State Park, where the barber pole striped
West Quoddy Head Light marks the east end of the continental
United States. Views over the water reveal Canada just offshore.
For dinner, head to the
Home Port Inn (45 Main St., Lubec; 207-733-2077), where the
locals' favorite is fresh wild Atlantic salmon baked with dill,
lemon, capers, and shallots. Plan to make it an early night so you
can be at the lighthouse to see morning arrive in America.

Where to stay: The 1880s country
Home Port Inn (45 Main St., Lubec; 800-457-2077,
www.homeportinn.com) looks
out on Cobscook Bay. Its cozy seven rooms, all with private baths,
are $90 to $105, including breakfast.

Optional Island Overnights

The Island Inn (Monhegan Island; 207-596-0371,
www.islandinnmonhegan.com)
juts out like a broad chin from the hill above the ferry landing.
Built mostly in 1907, its 32 rooms and suites have a mix of shared
and private baths. In-season rates start at $125, including
breakfast.

The Keeper's House Inn (Isle au Haut; 207-460-0257,
www.keepershouse.com) offers
a rare opportunity to experience the remote life at an offshore
lighthouse. There's no phone or electricity (beyond battery power),
but candlelight, gaslights, and kerosene lamps give evenings a
period ambience. Rates of $300 to $375 per day include all
meals.